About Wendy
Life is interesting! I never know what adventure I will be on next. I used to be a homesteader in Vermont. I had an organic vegetable farm and lived in an underground house. I have been living in my ancient RV full time and roaming the US for the last year and a half. For 2008, I moved into an apartment in Lakeland, Florida. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
You can see the Peace and Carrots web site for underground house and farm pics, plus many of my daughter Heather’s adventures.
The URI to TrackBack this entry is: http://wendyusuallywanders.wordpress.com/about/trackback/
Hi Wendy,
My nickname is windy ( with an I). given to me by my dad( now deceased), when I was a kid because I talked too much. Still do I guess.
I found this website saved in my favorites. I rarely go into my favorites any more. I had previously enjoyed reading about your daughter Heather and also your travels, and must have saved the website.
I live in Lakeland Florida. I’m originally from Indiana but moved to St. Petersburg Florida in 1971 when I was 13, a year after my father died. We lived on a small farm in a little town called Garrett.
We moved to Lakeland in 1988. It was much more rural and land and home prices way cheaper then they are now.
I hate the way it’s become over developed here. A lot of the woods,farms and orange groves are gone .And the way home and land prices were driven up. Even though home prices have come down, We kind of missed out on a chance to buy some land while it was still cheap to buy. About all you can find now is over priced swamp land.
I’m sorry to hear about your health problems and hope you find some relief. Prayers always help.
I have a problem with my right foot that started to deform about four years ago. I found out that my grandma on my dads side had CMT( Charcot Marie Tooth syndrome.)
My dad didn’t have it although his sister and brother did. he might have been a carrier and passed some milder form of it onto me.
I haven’t had any testing done to confirm that I have the gene, but I don’t know what else could be causing my foot and toes to deform.
My grandmas foot was severely twisted. I never knew the reason why, until now.
I was told surgery could help correct it. IF I can come up with about $ 10.000 to $ 12.000. Plus the left foot is rapidly following the same pattern with huge bunion and toes going all crooked and over lapping.
I really miss the older days when I could paint my toes and wear sandals and looked pretty good. I love sandals and to be barefoot.
Anyway, it was a joy to read about you and your daughters travels, adventures, homesteading, thoughts and your fortitude.
Take care and God bless.
Cheryl( windy) Hong
Hi Wendy
I’m trying to connect with people living on wheels to help spur me on to this type of life style. Right now I have 2 houses that I gotta get rid of. Taxes are killing me too and at 51 I gotta protect what retirement money I saved up. Selling those will be my two biggest hurdles, dealing with this present economy.
I have a regular size 1991 Dodge cargo van, a bit rusty. It could be my home on wheels if I could unload all my !@#$%^ first.
I’m in cold Michigan, and sunny Floriday sounds good right now. I’d want to migrate south whenever the cold hits. Do you by chance team with or park next to another van dweller for security purposes?
I try to do sourdough bread but I need a chef to help me I got the starter from eBay. We have friends in Lakeland.
B N
My first bout of paring down was by my choice, the second wasn’t. I was mostly happy the last couple of years to be free of “stuff”. It would have been nice to have more money, though
I’ve only met up with another van dweller once and camped next to him on purpose. Most of the time I prefer being alone. When I’m hanging out with someone, I don’t get to know the neighbors so well. I love meeting and greeting new folks on a regular basis. I also like determining my own schedule.
The best security is a dog. Zeke barks if people get close when I’m sleeping. He is also the best way to meet people
He is very cute and happy and affectionate. EVERYBODY wants to pet him and ask about him.
Sourdough is easy. I no longer measure when making pancakes. Since I use a bread machine, I just throw in the ingredients and let the machine do the work. Feeding the starter has become second nature. I never throw any out….I just keep making more sourdough foods
I did not move to Lakeland on purpose. It just sort of happened. The longer I am here, the more I appreciate the people, weather and proximity to all sorts of stuff.
Hi Wendy, I hope you wouldn’t mind answering a question for me. A lady I know in church wants to try to get a service dog. Could you possibly let me know how to tell her to start the process and where to go
and who to talk to? She really needs one bad.
Thanks,
Debi
What kind of service dog? Guide dogs for the blind are the easiest. Whatever you are looking for, Google is your best friend. Google service dogs, helper dogs, etc. If she has a particular disease, there are folks who train a dog that way, too. I know there are dogs trained specifically for people with myasthenia gravis.
Zeke was a “reject” search and rescue dog. They said he was the best at finding dead bodies, but then would chase rabbits and squirrels, so they retired him after a couple of years training. I happened to sort of know the trainer who lived in Michigan and we met each other half way and she gave me Zeke.
He came trained, but over the last 7 years, Zeke has learned more on his own than he ever learned in class. He is perfectly attuned to how I feel each day, and he understands the nuances of my gait problems. An Aussie is a perfect dog for me
A friend of mine wants a seizure dog. There are dogs that assist before and after a seizure and seizure alert dogs that know just before one happens. The ones who can sense a seizure can’t be trained to do it. They get that way by knowing the person real well.
She needs a dog to help her with physical things like picking up something if she drops it or opening doors and things like that. She is severely disabled from a car accident. She can not bend her arms or legs. The slightest things for me are very hard for her, but she still lives alone and wants to keep her indenpendence. Her and I are visiting teachers together and this past week we all met at Wendy’s and she said she wanted to look into getting a service dog. I immediately thought of you. I googled underground houses a few months ago and ran across your blog. I’ve been reading it since. I’ve never met anyone with a service dog and I thank you for letting me know how to get started so I can possibly help Maxine find her a dog. She also deserves a special friend and companion like Zeke.
It should be very easy for your friend to get a service dog. There are Yahoo groups about service dogs, too. I read them a lot when I first got Zeke, but don’t belong to any now.
Delta is one of the best web pages…
http://www.deltasociety.org/
Hi Wendy!
I just found your lovely blog. I’m reading and reading and can’t stop. I should be eating dinner now…
Anyway, I wondered if you saw a neurologist that specializes in MG? I do and it’s done me very well. I’m sure you’re smarter than me about this crazy disease but I hope I can offer some advice. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve had MG now for over 5 years.
Many Blessings!
Yup, I see a good doc…the neuro I have been seeing for the last couple of years is in St Petersburg and was voted best MG doc of the year. He is a fantastic doc. The problem is my insurance. It doesn’t pay for the IVIg and that is my doc’s favorite weapon against MG. Back when I was getting infusions every three weeks, I felt light years better
If you want to write to me I’m wsm311@aol.com
You probably see the same doc as me! The MDA won’t pay for your treatment? I’ll email you.